Friday, 5 September 2014

Herbal Party Series - FLAXSEED

Hey everyone,

A month and a half ago we announced that several powders/herbs are available on the African Naturalistas store. (FYI quite a few are actually sold out now). I was excited to see what powders were available, but then when I clicked on the post, I was a trifle confused because I didn't know what 75% of them were, how they're used and what their benefits are. I know there's at least someone out there who's in the same boat, so I started a series with a focus on all the herbs posted, so that we can learn a thing or two.

According to Wikipedia, it is a food and fiber crop that is native to the eastern Mediterranean, western Asia, the Middle East and India. You may have heard of Flaxseed oil or Flaxseed gel, and yup, this is where they come from :)

HAIR USE
Flaxseed as shown above comes in two varities - brown and golden. Both are high in omega-3 fatty acids, so help to keep your hair moisturized! Yes, a gel that moisturizes and doesn't leave your hair dry and/or crunchy! It also gives good curl definition, so those that like wash and go's should like this. Some of the benefits according to Urban Bush Babes are:

Leaves hair soft, shiny, and moisturized

Promotes hair growth

You can reuse the flax seeds

Cost effective (more for your money)

Nourishing for the hair rich in omega 3

Gives great curl definition

Gives hold with no crunch/non flaking/not drying to the hair/doesn’t cause breakage/or shedding

Fast drying

Great for wash n go’s/sleek styles/twists and twist outs and sets the twists once dry for a lovely twist out

Mixes well with oils/conditioners/ many products

All natural. Organic.

A lot of reviews compare it to Kinky Curly’s Knot Today, but say Flax seed Gel is actually better

Great for all hair types

HOW TO USE IT

Like I mentioned above, flaxseed for natural hair is most commonly used as a gel. Since it's a natural ingredient, a lot of naturalistas would prefer to use this instead of store-bought gels. The recipes I've seen call for the flaxseeds themselves (I'm yet to see any videos using the flaxseed powder).